Minister of Justice to table Bill 23 – Justice Statutes Amendment Act 2026

By Lethbridge Herald on April 1, 2026.

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Lethbridge Herald

Minister of Justice Mickey Amery addressed the province on Monday to say he was tabling Bill 23 – Justice Statutes Amendment Act 2026.  

During a press conference titled “Enhancing democracy and transparency,” Amery said the government has done a lot of work to refine democratic process legislation because all Albertans should have confidence in our democracy and in our elections. 

“Albertans expect our elections and other citizen-led initiatives to be fair, transparent and open. I’m proud of the work that our government has done thus far, and I’m pleased to see Albertans participating directly in our democracy,” said Amery. 

He said with Bill 23, they continue to refine and improve the citizen initiative and recall processes, while also ensuring transparency in government processes, including public sector and compensation disclosures. 

If passed, the Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2026 would lower the threshold for public sector compensation reporting, enhance open and accessible democratic processes and protect the integrity of Alberta’s elections by prohibiting the creation and distribution of deepfakes.

Amery said the amendments to the Public Sector Compensation Transparency Act come directly from recommendations from the Standing Committee on Families and Communities.  

“We’re also amending the Citizen Initiative Act and the Recall Act, which will allow scrutineers to oversee the petition signature verification process and addressing the requirements for how long Elections Alberta must keep signature sheets,” said Amery. 

He said this is to make sure that information is available if there are concerns about the verification process. 

“We’re also creating more flexibility on when a referendum can be held after a successful policy or constitutional referendum proposal,” said Amery. 

He said Bill 23 will also ensure that our elections will remain fair and honest by prohibiting the creation and distribution of deepfakes. 

“Public confidence is essential to a healthy democracy. The emergence of deepfakes presents a threat to this confidence. Bill 23 also lays all fines that could be imposed on those who do not comply with the law,” said Amery. 

Individuals could be fined a maximum penalty of $10,000 and entities could be fined $100,000 if found to not comply with the restrictions on deepfakes.